Can a phoenix rise from it's own ashes?
The Mocs need to rebound from a very disappointing loss to Murray State at home last Saturday night. They desperately need to come up with a win so that the momentum that they gained from winning against Appalachian State and Western Carolina earlier this month is not totally lost.
However, Elon also desperately needs a win after starting 0-2 in conference play. A loss here would put the Phoenix at 0-3. With the Mocs at 3-0 and owning a road win over the Phoenix, Elon would be a full three games behind the Mocs and in trouble in any tiebreaker with them. Could they own a first round bye if they fall to 0-3?
And so it begins. A game that is absolutely critical to both teams at a very early portion of the conference season. This game is as important as any game the Mocs have played yet this year. It's also especially critical to the Phoenix.
Elon has been a bit of a house of horrors for the Mocs over the years. They have gone 3-4 at Elon, including losing the last two years up there- both in fairly painful fashion. That followed 2008, when the Mocs won at Elon to close the regular season- then lost to Phoenix in heartbreaking fashion in the SoCon Tournament Quarterfinals.
Have I ever mentioned how much I hate Elon on here? Probably not. Let me just say it now- I hate Elon. Not because they have obnoxious fans (or a big number of fans). The problem with them is that they ALWAYS beat the Mocs right when I least want them to. They should not be able to beat the Mocs consistently, and yet they are 8-8 all-time against the Mocs.
With an eye on this game, Jack Isenbarger is the Phoenix leading scorer. He comes off the bench. In three games (South Carolina, College of New Jersey, and Maryland), he has averaged 24.3 points per game. In the other six, he has averaged 8.8. Againsy Lynchburg in their last game, he scored 15, and shot 4 of 6 from the three point line. He had eight assists against Hampden. He is shooting 43.8% from three point range, and has 3.8 rebounds per game, along with being second on the team in assists, averaging just over 3 per game. Not bad. The freshman has been one of the real pleasant surprises of the conference so far.
Chris Long is one of the players that has given the Mocs problems in the past. He leads the team in assists with just over 4 per game. He is averaging 13.3 points per game. He is shooting 54.7% from the floor. He is shooting 38.2% from the three point range. He is also shooting 86% from the free throw line. Long is a senior, and is a good leader. Honestly, if Elon is going to make a run in the SoCon Tournament in Chattanooga, look for Long to be a major reason why.
Drew Spradlin is the other Phoenix player to score in double figures, averaging 13.1 points per game. The 6-5 junior guard is shooting just under 40% from the floor on the season. Spradlin has the ability to get hot. He needs to get going for the Phoenix to put together the type of SoCon season that they are hoping to build on.
The leading rebounder is Roger Dugas. He is 6-8, and is getting 6.1 rebounds per game. He also is shooting 45.2% from three point range, which is tops on the team. Scott Grable also averages 4.3 per game. Grable is 6-9. Those two both start. But freshman Lucas Troutman averages 4.6 rebounds per game. In one of the more odd stats of the early season, he has 21 offensive rebounds, and just 20 defensive rebounds. His problem? He shoots just 38.5% from the field. For a big guy who is getting a lot of offensive rebounds, he needs to be shooting at a higher percentage than that.
This will be a big challenge for Chris Early, DeAntre Jefferson and Jeremy Saffore down low. They will be challenged by Elon's bigs. How will they respond to this challenge?
Elon averages 78.6 points per game, good for 42nd in the country. They collect 35.8 rebounds per game, which puts them at 183rd. They give up 38.6 rebounds per game. They also are 50th in the country in assists.
After a week off, the Mocs also have finished up their finals. They have been totally focused on basketball this week. They are some of the few students on campus this week. They should look better in the early going than they did against Murray State, when they looked like a team that hadn't thought about basketball for most of the week.
KEYS TO THE GAME
--How will Early, Jefferson, and Saffore respond to playing a team that has some bigs that can play pretty well? Elon's bigs are not unbelievably good, and this is an area that the Mocs need to win the battles. And it should be a battle.
--Can Bell, Taylor, Wattad, and Odem play the defense necessary to contain the guards? Elon's guards control the game, and set everything up. The Mocs guards will need to play good defense on them to prevent the open looks.
--Rebounding. Always critical.
--Free throw shooting. Yes, Jefferson stinks. We know that. The rest of the Mocs need to make theirs, and he needs to make an acceptable percentage.
--Hurried patience. This is my new catch phrase. The Mocs need to run some. Bell plays the best in the open floor. But they also need to be patient in this game. Elon wants to score in bunches. The Mocs need to weather storms, especially on the road, and show that they can play with good pace in a game like this one.
WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS WIN
--Breathe the contented sigh of someone who just listened to his team beat an arch-nemesis.
--3-0 in the SoCon North! Until January 8!
--Relax and enjoy my weekend.
WHAT I'LL DO IF THE PHOENIX WIN
--Stomp around the house with a very disgruntled look on my face. The same look that normally encompasses my face after the Mocs lose to Elon. One of these probably describes it.
--Wonder if 2-1 is a good enough start to hold up for one of the North's byes in the SoCon Tournament.
--Wish that we could have been 3-1 heading into Reinhardt and Montreat on the month of December.
--Sigh, go to sleep, and remember that tomorrow is another day.
LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO BE WRONG
--The Mocs will start fast, playing significantly better than they did against Murray State in the first half last week.
--Long, Spradlin, and Isenbarger will get in more than their fair share of shots on us.
--Wattad will make some open threes in transition off of nice passes by Bell.
--Taylor will play especially better than he did against Murray State.
--Jefferson will miss a few free throws that will make us want to bang our heads against the wall.
--Mocs 81, Elon 77. Please let this be right. Please, please, please. I want to beat Elon so bad. I get so frustrated by Elon. Please let us beat them. Please. Fast paced game suits Bell, and he is the engine that helps us win this one.
GO MOCS!
No comments:
Post a Comment